


Night Terrors

by deathishauntedbyhumans



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Crying, Divorce, Fighting, Gen, Pre-Canon, Sibling Love, Wordcount: 100-1.000, we all know how this one ends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 19:38:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20981282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathishauntedbyhumans/pseuds/deathishauntedbyhumans
Summary: In the dead of the night, Soren and Claudia bear witness to the straw that breaks the camel’s back in the relationship between their mom and dad.





	Night Terrors

**Author's Note:**

> Claudia/Soren shippers if you so much as look at this fic I will stomp you to death with my hooves! (Not really but this was NOT written for an incest ship so if you read it that way w/ever but please keep it out of the comments.)

“They’re fighting again,” Soren stage-whispers across the room to Claudia. She’s curled up in his bed while he peeks out through the keyhole, watching their parents yell at each other out in the hall. 

When he turns to glance at her, it’s to find her shoving a pillow over her head. “I wish they’d stop,” she mumbles into it. Soren nods in agreement. He knows he should try and sleep, curl up to Claudia like he normally does when they get scared of their parents arguments like this, but something about tonight feels… off. 

Soren peeks back through the keyhole. 

“I can’t do this anymore, Viren!” Their mother throws her hands up in the air. “I’m done! You can’t keep playing with dark magic, but if you refuse to listen to me, then I quit. I’m  _ done _ .” She yells the last word so loudly and shrilly that Soren feels himself shudder in his nightclothes. 

The sound of blankets ruffling draws Soren’s attention briefly back to the bed. Claudia slips her feet over the edge and pads quietly to his side, still clutching one of his pillows to her chest. “What does she mean?” she whispers. This close, Soren can see tear tracks on her face. He bites his lip and shakes his head. 

“I don’t know.”

He checks the hallway again. Their father is standing, stiff-backed, just within Soren’s line of sight. 

“Fine,” he says quietly, and Claudia makes a whimpering sound of distress. Soren gestures wildly for her to keep quiet without looking away from the keyhole. 

“Fine?” Their mother says, her anger thick and deadly in the stagnancy of the hall. 

Their father doesn’t flinch. “Fine,” he repeats. “You’re done. You’ll leave the castle.”

Their mother  _ does  _ flinch, but then she draws herself up. “We need to discuss this, then,” she states firmly. Their father sets his jaw and nods once, stiffly. Without warning, he turns and makes his way down the hall. Their mother follows at a swift pace, leaving two children behind to gape at each other in vague horror. 

“He doesn’t mean it,” Claudia says. She’s crying again, her body trembling. “He can’t mean it.”

“Dad will fix things. He’ll do what’s right for us,” Soren says. He’s nervous about what they’ve heard, yes, but he has absolute faith in their father. “Clauds, it’s going to be okay.”

When Claudia only sobs in response, Soren swallows back his own rising fear and puts on a smile that isn’t quite real. “C’mere,” he says, and gathers Claudia in a big hug. “Stop crying, come on. You’re only gonna get all puffy, like the way girls always do when they cry.”

It takes her a second, but Claudia weakly punches him in the side from where she’s tucked up in his embrace. “Shut up,” she mutters, but there’s no heat behind it. 

She drags her tear-filled face over his chest, and Soren lets out what he’ll never admit is a rather unmanly squeal and shoves her away. “Ew, Claudia! Gross!” 

She lets out a wet laugh. “You deserved that.” There’s a pause where they both just stand there in the mostly-dark room, looking at each other, and then Claudia picks up the pillow she must have dropped in her upset. “Thanks, Sorbear.”

He waves a hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah. We should get some sleep. I’ve got sword training in the morning, and you and dad have whatever magicky stuff you normally do, right?”

“Yeah,” Claudia agrees, and she wipes her nose on the sleeve of her own nightclothes once more before padding towards the bed. 

Soren glances nervously towards the door before following. He’s sure that everything will be fine. After all, he and Claudia love their parents, and he knows that they love them right back in return. Everything will be fine.

He curls up in bed on what they’ve mutually decided is  _ his  _ side. Claudia murmurs a quiet goodnight. He returns it without thought. 

Everything  _ has  _ to be fine. 

**Author's Note:**

> I!! love!! Soren!!   
Fuck!!! 
> 
> Kudos/comments are love! Come scream at me on tumblr @deathishauntedbyhumans.


End file.
